House of the Dragon has always had to make changes from George R.R. Martin's novel Fire & Blood, owing to the fact it's an unconventional novel that rarely spells things out for the reader. But few of those changes have been as profound as that of Sheepstealer's rider. This wild dragon that the show is exploring in its third season is ridden by a lowborn peasant girl named Nettles in the book, who befriends him by feeding him his favorite animal for weeks until he trusts her.
In House of the Dragon, however, Sheepstealer has been claimed by Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell), who abandoned her duties to her house and wandered into the wilderness in search of the beast at the end of season 2. She found him, and in season 3 they've officially bonded as dragon and rider.
Merging Rhaena and Nettles as characters comes with some large complications, especially since Rhaena does have her own book arc that is crucially important to the ultimate resolution of the Targaryen civil war. Whether House of the Dragon will still utilize that material or jettison it entirely remains to be seen, but after season 3 episode 4, "Tumbleton," I think the show's plan for combining Rhaena and Nettles is becoming clearer. And I think that it could still include Rhaena's book dragon, Morning.
Let's go over what happens to both Nettles and Rhaenyra in the book, so we can theorize how the show will tie it all together. FULL SPOILERS ahead for House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood.
What happens to Nettles and Sheepstealer in Fire & Blood?
Nettles is introduced during the Sowing of the Seeds (a.k.a. the Red Sowing), when she becomes one of four aspiring dragonriders who claims a dragon in support of Rhaenyra Targaryen. However, unlike Hugh, Ulf, or Addam of Hull, who bond with dragons that have already served House Targaryen under previous riders, Nettles bonds with a wild dragon: Sheepstealer. She does this a similar way to Rhaena in the show, feeding Sheepstealer sheep — except over a much longer period of time to gain his trust. Sheepstealer lives on Dragonstone instead of the Vale.
Unlike the rest of the dragonseeds, Nettles isn't seemingly a bastard of House Targaryen or Velaryon. She does not have the blood of Old Valyria, but is just a commoner getting by on her guile and determination. Her success upends the dragonrider system, challenging the idea that the bond between Targaryen and dragon is some sort of Valyrian birthright. If Nettles can do it as she did, anyone could.
Nettles takes part in the Battle of the Gullet without any sort of mishap with Sheepstealer, though the horror of what she's seen there weighs heavily on her. Later in the war, she ends up in the Riverlands with Daemon Targaryen, hunting his nephew Aemond and Vhagar. During this time, Rhaenyra's paranoia grows, and she hears rumors that Daemon and Nettles have become inseperable. She believes it to be an affair, encouraged by some meddling from Mysaria, and sends orders for Nettles to be executed.
It's not known whether Daemon and Nettles were actually lovers. Other theories paint her as a secret bastard child from his younger years. But either way, they were extremely close, and when word reaches Daemon of Rhaenyra's death order on the girl, he seemingly decides to send her away.
Fire & Blood never reveals what Daemon and Nettles said to one another before she left. She simply rides ouf of the story and into the mists of history, never to be heard from again. Sheepstealer is one of the few dragons to survive the Dance of the Dragons, because he vanishes along with his rider.
This sequence of events has a profound effect on Daemon, propelling him toward his eventual ending in the story. It's all but assured House of the Dragon will adapt what happens to the rogue prince, so it makes sense that it is including Nettles' storyline, even if it's coming in a very different form.
What happens to Rhaena Targaryen in the book?
While Nettles is off fighting in the war on Sheepstealer, Rhaena Targaryen is leading a very different sort of life. She's still sent to the Vale with Rhaenyra's young children just like House of the Dragon, however she never leaves for Pentos or goes hunting for dragons. Instead, she pretty much remains in the Vale under Jeyne Arryn's protection until the war ends, sheltered from the horrors unfolding beyond its borders. We don't see much of this time for Rhaena, similar to the way we don't see a large swathe of time for Aegon II after he disappears from King's Landing.
When the war is ended and all the dragons dead, Rhaena sets out for King's Landing to reclaim her place as a Targaryen princess and crucial member of the line of succession. She brings a surprise with her: a small pink dragon hatchling named Morning. Rhaena, who never had a dragon, finally gets her wish when one of the eggs she was entrusted with caring for hatches under her watch.
Morning represents a glimmer of hope for House Targaryen after all the devastation it has endured. She and Rhaena pair play a crucial role in the chapter of Westeros' history that follows the Dance. To not include them would be an extremely strange choice, since they're some of the most relevant characters to the endgame of the story. Rhaena Targaryen essentially becomes the last Targaryen dragonrider before Daenerys Stormborn.
Fortunately, I don't think House of the Dragon will leave out Morning, or Rhaena's return to King's Landing. Rather, it's taking a circuitous route to get there, courtesy of a detour through Nettles' storyline.
How House of the Dragon could combine Nettles and Rhaena's story
At the end of House of the Dragon season 2, Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) departed from her book plotline and set off into the unknown when she sought out Sheepstealer in the Vale. Season 3 has seen Rhaena come even more into the fore, as she rode her newly-bonded dragon to the Battle of the Gullet to help her family, only to accidentally cause the death of her step brother Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett).
In episode 304, "Tumbleton," Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) discovers Rhaena is hiding out in a cave in the Vale with her dragon. Rhaena pushes Daemon to lie to Rhaenyra, telling the Black Queen that Sheepstealer's rider died. While he recognizes this would be a betrayal, Daemon ultimately does it to save his daughter from his own wife's wrath. Instead, Daemon murders an innocent shepherd, burns their head until it's unrecognizable, and delivers it to Rhaenyra claiming Sheepstealer's rider has been thwarted.
At this point, Rhaena is hiding in the Vale, nearly unrecognizable thanks to her ragged clothing and burned hair. Only Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin) and Daemon know she's there. Anonymity is her shield.
But it's doubtful that Rhaena will stay completely isolated all season. Personally, I think there may come a time she more properly adopts the nickname Nettles, leaning into the idea that she is no one in order to keep as low a profile as possible.
Whether the show explicitly names her Nettles or not, I think Rhaena will eventually take on Nettles' key book plotline of hunting Aemond in the Riverlands with Daemon. Perhaps Daemon goes to Rhaena for help, since Vhagar is such a mighty dragon. Perhaps the two reconcile, and he offers to help her get better control over the wild Sheepstealer. Likely it's some combination of motivations, but either way, I expect Daemon and Rhaena will start spending more time together later through season 4.
House of the Dragon has already laid the groundwork for Rhaenyra's paranoia to spiral in this storyline, thanks to the fact that Daemon just lied to her about killing Sheepstealer's rider. In the book, it's painted as Rhaenyra's paranoia alienating her from those serving her; in the show, Daemon has given her a legitimate reason to distrust him by lying to her.
At some point, this lie will come to a head, and Rhaenyra will demand some sort of satisfcation from Sheepstealer's rider. From there, Daemon's parting ways with "Netles" would happen more or less the same as in the novel, propelling Daemon toward the God's Eye for his own final battle. It would be the perfect set up perfect for Rhaena to ride Sheepstealer off into the sunset...only for viewers to discover that she actually finds a way to sever her bond with the dragon, releasing him back into the wild.
After that, Rhaena could resurface in the Vale, where she would be perfectly situated to pick up her character's book arc once again. If, after sacrificing everything, Rhaena was surprised with a new dragon hatchling bonding her, it could be a beautiful moment in the series that drives home the idea that Morning is a ray of hope for House Targaryen at their darkest hour. Rhaena could still head to King's Landing, and she could still play a central role in events — except now, she'd be profoundly changed from her experiences iwth Sheepstealer.
However much House of the Dragon decides to draw from Nettles and Rhaena's book storylines for this new version of the character, it's become clear the the show has positioned itself in a way that it can have its cake and eat it too, pulling from both as needed. We may never got a book-accurate Nettles in this series, but Rhaena Targaryen is her own unique character whose rode is equally fascinating.
We'll see how it unfolds when House of the Dragon premieres more episodes of its third season, Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
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